Insight Bureau: On Monday, the Central government appointed Indian Army Vice Chief Lieutenant General Manoj Pande as the successor to the position, the chief of the Indian Army. He will take over his new office on May 1, 2022  as reported by the official communique.

The 29th Army chief will be the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to become the Chief of Army Staff. He will be succeeding General Manoj Mukund Naravane, who will be discharged from the position after completing his 28 months-tenure on April 30, 2022.

Lieutenant General Pande is an alumnus of the National Defense Academy (NDA) and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers in December 1982. In his 39-year service, Lt. General Pande has commanded an engineer brigade in Western theatre, an infantry brigade along LoC, a mountain division in Ladakh sector and a corps in northeast.